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| Authored by: complex_number on Sunday, June 17 2012 @ 12:50 AM EDT |
The current editon of 'Steam Engine' is a special edition to celebrate the
tri-dentenary of the first Newcomen Engine.
There is an interesting piece about the patent battles between Richard Trethevik
and James Watt.
Trethivik's improvements to the steam engine efficiency came about BECAUSE of
the restrictive nature of Watt's patent.
The patent was for an external condenser.
Trethevik build his engines without the condenser AND got higher efficiency by
using higher boiler pressures and even compounding.
Sadly the side effect of higher boiler pressures was the increaded liklelyhood
of a boiler explosion. After one such event Trethevik added a blow out plug to
the boiler. Not a safety valve as this would not close off. My 5in Gauge GWR
King boiler has such a plug in the firebox. Get to 300psi and the plug blows
killin g the fire.
Trethevik thought that the plug and his leter improvments were so valuable to
the industry as a whole that he didn't patent them.
I wonder if todays patent examiners would allow a patent on such a device.
---
Ubuntu & 'apt-get' are not the answer to Life, The Universe & Everything which
is of course, "42" or is it 1.618?
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